63% at least proficient in English language arts, 55% in math; outpace state marks

San Diego County students as a whole made gains and outpaced their peers in California on state standardized tests administered in the spring, according to results released Friday.

About 63 percent of students countywide scored proficient or advanced in English language arts, an increase of 3 percentage points from the previous year. In math, 55 percent of county students scored proficient or better — a percentage point higher than in the year before. The statewide figures were 57 percent for English and 51 percent for math.

Standardized test scores have improved steadily year after year in the county; since 2008, they have climbed 12 percentage points for English and 8 percentage points for math. Similarly, statewide scores have risen uninterrupted for nine straight years.

“We have a long way to go, but we are certainly pleased countywide with the trends. Something we constantly hear is, with the persistent (state education) budget cuts, ‘How long can we sustain this?’ ” said Sally Bennett-Schmidt, assessment director for the San Diego County Office of Education.

The Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program began in 1998. The exams are administered from elementary through high school, with different grade levels assessed in different topics — English, math, science and history.

Over the years, schools in the county also have chipped away at the achievement gap between white and Asian students and their black and Hispanic counterparts. Even so, a deep chasm remains and educators continue to look for solutions.

For the first time, many students in the region made stronger improvements in English than in math. The shift is significant because of the county’s large population of immigrant students, who are typically better equipped to learn math since that subject relies less on linguistic skills than English language arts, Bennett-Schmidt said.

The stronger English gain could be the result of schools stepping up literacy intervention for struggling students, including those in special education programs or classes for English learners. It could also indicate that additional math support programs are needed as schools require more rigorous math and science courses for all students, not just the college-bound.

Amid the overall improvement in STAR scores, some local schools and districts saw dips in proficiency rates. The math figure dropped by nearly 2 percentage points for Coronado schools, 1 percentage point for schools in Ramona and 1 percentage point in the Sweetwater Union High School District.

Other districts reported gains in proficiency that surpassed the county’s and state’s.

For example, among the state’s nine large urban school districts, San Diego Unified tied Garden Grove Unified for having the highest science scores: 66 percent of their students (in fifth, eight and 10th grades) tested proficient or better in that subject. In the Cajon Valley Union School District, the English score jumped 8 percentage points and the math figure increased 3 percentage points. And the La Mesa/Spring Valley School District boosted its English score by nearly 6 percentage points and its math score by 5 percentage points.

“This shows we were on the right track (earlier) this year when we worked out a deal to recall 1,500 teachers back to the classroom” after they had been laid off because of budget cuts, said John Lee Evans, president of the San Diego Unified school board. “We need every one of these teachers to continue producing these great results.”